Human Trafficking

"...and the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over [Babylon] for no one buys their merchandise anymore: merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron and marble; and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men." (Revelation 18:11-13, NKJV)

I support Bill C-36. It’s a start, a good one, towards protecting those who are vulnerable. But it’s not black and white.

In December 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down certain prostitution-related laws and gave the government a year to either let the laws remain null (essentially decriminalizing prostitution) or respond with legislation. Choosing to respond with legislation, the government unveiled Bill C-36 “Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act” this past June.

So this is personal – not just to Ron Geerlings and me but to the CRCNA. I remember this area, its farmers and church leaders. We have been at schools just like the burned-out shell you see on the news.

About a year ago, I met a woman named Belle, who was trying to leave prostitution. As we began to form a friendship she began to tell me her story. Though the details differ, her story echoes those of other women who have survived prostitution. Despite being smart, funny, resilient, courageous, loving, and sensitive, Belle has not yet been able to find a way out of addiction and abusive relationships. Though I’ve worked in one way or another with people on the margins my entire adult life, I experienced a profound awareness of Christ’s presence as this woman and I formed a friendship.

I began to learn about the sex trade in Canada after I began working as the Executive Director of Indian Metis Christian Fellowship (IMCF) in Regina, Saskatchewan.

It was obvious to anyone who drove the streets of North Central Regina that the women and girls standing at street corners were at work. They were ‘street workers’ waiting for ‘johns’–the men who would pay them for sex. In the area around the ministry, the majority of street workers were Aboriginal females, from children to young adults to grandmothers.

This winter, World Renew and the OSJ are able to offer up to 20 scholarships towards the registration cost of The Justice Conference, happening in Los Angeles, Friday evening February 21 through February 22. If you would like to apply for a scholarship to attend this conference let us know by filling out this application by January 20.

There were five things that I took away from the conference that I can do. I’ll go through them one-by-one and elaborate.

Over the last year, I have been contemplating the relationship between awareness and action, and I am not convinced that they are the same thing; you can be aware that slavery is still occurring around the world, but what action are you taking to alleviate or eliminate it? Yet awareness and action can often intersect as awareness prompts a desire to act. For example, awareness can lead to action by taking the Slavery Footprint quiz.

What images come to your mind when you think of the words “slavery” or “abolitionist”? Chains? William Wilberforce? Amazing Grace? The Underground Railroad?

Last month, I spent a sunny afternoon outside with my family. My children were running around with their friends, in shorts and tank tops, asking for the sprinkler to be turned on. It was on that day like any other that God opened my eyes to human trafficking.